USA earns a sobering "D"

"In 2009, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released its comprehensive infrastructure report card. It's not a pretty read," writes Arianna Huffington in Third World America: How Our Politicians Are Abandoning the Middle Class and Betraying the American Dream
(ISBN 978-0-307-71982-9).

Overall grade on our national infrastructure?
"An appalling D," Huffington continues. And this, she adds, is a downward trend since 2005.

For instance:

Transit and aviation, fell from D+ to D.

Roads dropped from D to D- (how much closer can we get to failing?)

Dams, hazardous waste, and schools remained at their 2005 D grade.

Drinking water and wastewater "remained mired at D-."

According to the ACSE report card, it would take an investment of $2.2 trillion to bring our vital functions up to barely passing, if we were to work at the repair and rebuilding for 5 years. But how much has been budgeted for that 5 years?  $975 billion.

Are we in the eve of the collapse of the American Empire? 

Some Web sites to check:
www.infrastructurereportcard.org
www.asce.org
www.scientificamerican.com  : "It's the kind of report card you . . . " by Katherine Harmon,  "U.S. Infrastructure Crumbling"  28 Jan. 2009.

Huffington covers many other areas of national life which she documents are in decline: education, employment,  upward mobility, government by elected representatives, housing, etc.; but urgent as are all those problems, it is the deteriorating condition of our electric grid, underground water and sewer pipes, bridges, and the like that grabbed my attention. I watched "The Crumbling of America" on the Reelz cable channel during the week I was reading Third World America, so I've had a comprehensive look at what Huffington was writing about. Even after subtracting a percentage for a bit of entertainment hype in each presentation, there's still reason to be concerned. Just look around!

A most appealing feature of Huffington's book is that she devotes a large section to what ordinary individuals can do (and are doing) to help reverse the negative trends.  It can be as simple as withdrawing one's money from a robber baron bank (i.e., Citibank, Bank of America, etc.) and put it in a credit union. Read!

Back to infrastructure:  It's time for Americans to put each other to work not just repairing the decay but leapfrogging over existing ways and means to create stronger, more efficient and long-lasting infrastructure. There's plenty of money floating around (Wall Street? corporations?) to get started on this megaproject.  And perhaps the public-spirited billionaires who are giving their fortunes to various charities could direct some of their largesse to ensuring that the mundane essentials for human life are put back in place.

I live in one of the most affluent towns in a fairly affluent state, and here are some infrastructure problems I pass every day. (Photos by Roy Barnacle)

The snowplow must have done this while trying
to dispose of our monumental quantity of snow.

It's hard to justify the use of non-galvanized
metal guardrails. These posts so readily rotted
that one wonders if they were properly prepared.
Notice the lack of breakdown lane or even ditch.

One person CAN do something:

Here is Roy, putting the yellow visibility
marker back on a chain-link gate.

One small blog post cannot tell all or accomplish all, but maybe this one will help a little. The ball is in our court.